Dell PowerEdge SC440 with Dual Core Server $199

Awesome, thanks for the update.

Previously Dell stated that this was limit 5. I ordered 10, the orders went thu. 6 (not 5) showed up. After a month of waiting on the others, I finally get notification that the remainder of the order was canceled. Nice.

Anyone have suggestions on how to maximize chances of getting as many of these as I can? I only have one specific cc as a payment option.

Thanks.

Oh, also - the heatsink on these things are MAMMOTHS! Bigger and badder than something like the AC freezer 7 pro and similars.
 
hardware_failure said:
Awesome, thanks for the update.

Previously Dell stated that this was limit 5. I ordered 10, the orders went thu. 6 (not 5) showed up. After a month of waiting on the others, I finally get notification that the remainder of the order was canceled. Nice.

Anyone have suggestions on how to maximize chances of getting as many of these as I can? I only have one specific cc as a payment option.

Thanks.

Oh, also - the heatsink on these things are MAMMOTHS! Bigger and badder than something like the AC freezer 7 pro and similars.
Click to expand...

Simple solution is to get a dell business rep. We did an order for a christian school a few months ago where they had a limit of 5 on the optiplex's we ordered. Think we ordered 75 of them and got the deal......
 
alumar said:
I will report my results but here is what i am placing in the server tonight:

Q6700 - 2.66ghz 1066mhz (will test the BSEL 1333mhz)
8gb ECC (even though it says 4, it looks like 8 will work)
2x Volciraptor 300GB
2x Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB Drives
Server 2003 RC2 64-Bit
Click to expand...

Further thread necro... But were the results of this ever posted?

I'm looking into upgrading the cpu in my SC440 (It's a WHS box now, but I run pyTivo on it, and the extra headroom for transcoding would be nice...)

Do the 45 nm processors work in the SC440? What FSB speeds does it support?

Thanks (maybe this thread should be moved?)

-Kevin
 
KevinG said:
Further thread necro... But were the results of this ever posted?

I'm looking into upgrading the cpu in my SC440 (It's a WHS box now, but I run pyTivo on it, and the extra headroom for transcoding would be nice...)

Do the 45 nm processors work in the SC440? What FSB speeds does it support?

Thanks (maybe this thread should be moved?)

-Kevin
Click to expand...

Let me try and answer your questions.

The 45 nm processors will not work.

In my SC440 I am running a Q6600 with 6GB's of RAM. In the BIOS it shows up a little odd saying it's a dual core and with 4MB of Cache (but it does say that it's a Q6600).... however I am thinking this is more a limitation of the BIOS etc, because in Windows Server 2008 it shows all of the cores and CPUID shows all 8MB of cache so it is working correctly. Also running IntelBurn shows all the cores are working etc.

As far as I can tell the FSB is at 1066 like it should be.

On a side note if you want to upgrade the memory the only memory I found to work was this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148115 (big thanks to Flavorite for pointing this out) The system will work fine with 8GB's of this memory. Anything over 667 will cause the system not too work, and also any other memory I tried would not work but the memory from Newegg/Crucial.

The only other thing to mention is while running IntelBurn test on the system I did notice the temps went from 35C to 68C or so... Which is high but since I am only using this to host L4D or Counter Strike games the temps will never get that high. I am using the cooler the system came with, with a new application of Arctic Silver 5. I thought I would point this out since you said you were going to use this for encoding, because if it does get too hot maybe you could see about modding the cooler etc. I have looked in the case and was thinking about trying to add an extra fan blowing across the heatsink but have not put much thought into it since I am not using the system for anything too extreme.

The Q6700 works fine in this system and so do some of the Quad Core Xeons that have the same specs (non 45 nm etc).

Let me know if you have any more questions.
 
just surfed by the dell outlet page...guess who's testimonial is featured at the bottom? lol

"[Dell Outlet systems] come with the same warranty as a new box, and from what I can tell, most of them are brand new...we estimate that we have saved between $15,000 to $20,000 buying the outlet servers. I have used Dell Outlet for years now for family laptops and computers that I wanted support on with certain family members and it has always worked out the same as if we had purchased the items new. This is our first foray into buying servers from Dell Outlet, and ... it is hard to complain with the amount of savings that is passed along.”

Kyle B.
Editor-in-Chief
[H]ard|OCP
 
Scarby Jones said:
Let me try and answer your questions.
The 45 nm processors will not work.

The Q6700 works fine in this system and so do some of the Quad Core Xeons that have the same specs (non 45 nm etc).
Click to expand...

Scarby, Thanks for the info! I wonder why the 45 nm processors don't work...I suppose they would if Dell would release a bios update (unlikely, though). Right? I was hoping to decrease the power footprint of the server...

Anyway, maybe I'll just pick up a q6600 or q6700 for this box. It already has 2 gigs of memory, and I don't see any reason to give WHS any more than that...

Thanks again.
 
pxc said:
Dell small business service and support is pretty good the times I have dealt with it.
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QFT! A year ago, the HD died in my mother's 3+ year old, out-of-warranty laptop.

Not only did I get a CS agent right away, but they stayed on the phone and talked me through getting the thing apart and when I needed to run a test that took 10 mins or so, the rep hung on the line (with home users they probably tell them to call back).

I don't get the complaints. It's a 200 dollar server. Maybe you can build something better for less, but if you factor in time, I suspect it's not that easy...and whoever quoted an MB with an X16 PCI-E slot, I have to ask, why would I want that in a server? Is there something other than a GPU that will use that slot?


Anyone know how much power this thing uses at idle and load?
 
nilepez said:
Anyone know how much power this thing uses at idle and load?
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I can't say much about load, but sitting at the desktop with two hard-drives it registers 80 watts or so on my kill-a-watt. I measured it just before powering up the other 2 500 gig drives. Now it sits at about 90 to 95 watts with 4 500 gig drives spinning. (None of these drives are "green"). I calculated my cost of running the server 24/7 at around $12/month.
 
ordovician said:
This is not a good deal. I just configged up a system on newegg with better specs (read: pci-e x16, antec psu, and 160gb hdd) for $230. Plus you don't have to deal with sh*tty f*ckin' Dell.
...
EDIT: I guess Dell includes a CD-ROM drive for that price. Whoop de doo! Newegg has one for $12. Why anyone who knows how to build PCs would fall for Dell's crap is beyond me.
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If you have ever been a sys admin for a decent size business, then you'd be very familiar with the term Total Cost of Ownership. Buying similar servers from a reputable manufacturer results in a cost savings over time. I left a company where I standardized on Dell equipment, saving them a lot of headaches. My replacement came in and started making all servers and PCs for a 50+ person company and it quickly became unmanageable for him. He had the same mentality -- I can build it BETTER! They fired him after a couple months.

Not saying that building your own isn't better, but once you've built as many as I have, you quickly realize that for business purposes, building your own is not always better.
 
PrkChpXprss said:
If you have ever been a sys admin for a decent size business, then you'd be very familiar with the term Total Cost of Ownership. Buying similar servers from a reputable manufacturer results in a cost savings over time. I left a company where I standardized on Dell equipment, saving them a lot of headaches. My replacement came in and started making all servers and PCs for a 50+ person company and it quickly became unmanageable for him. He had the same mentality -- I can build it BETTER! They fired him after a couple months.

Not saying that building your own isn't better, but once you've built as many as I have, you quickly realize that for business purposes, building your own is not always better.
Click to expand...

Exactly. For personal use, building my own is better. I can't always do it for cheaper, but I certainly can build a better system than the OEMs can. I also get control over what is in the system. I may not with the OEM.

When it comes to business use, warranty and support is everything. It saves you money and time. Not only that but you can adopt a standard configuration which makes software imaginng much easier. As far as I am concerned there is no better way to go for business. If you've got a problem you get parts or a technician next business day. If you have a server with the right contract on it you can get parts in as little as 4 hours.

You can't beat that building yourself.
 
Dan_D said:
Exactly. For personal use, building my own is better. I can't always do it for cheaper, but I certainly can build a better system than the OEMs can. I also get control over what is in the system. I may not with the OEM.

When it comes to business use, warranty and support is everything. It saves you money and time. Not only that but you can adopt a standard configuration which makes software imaginng much easier. As far as I am concerned there is no better way to go for business. If you've got a problem you get parts or a technician next business day. If you have a server with the right contract on it you can get parts in as little as 4 hours.

You can't beat that building yourself.
Click to expand...

So if I wanted to build a server for, for example, WHS, would I be better off using this, or building something myself (keep energy efficiency in mind).

I really need to learn more about this, because I'd really like to build a WHS for my parents and that or a file server for me as well as some sort of a media serer...thoughI wouldn't mind combining media/files into one server.

OK, what I really want is a box that does everythign but gaming, including HTPC that's as efficient as an ATOM when idling....but i guess I can't have it all ;)
 
nilepez said:
So if I wanted to build a server for, for example, WHS, would I be better off using this, or building something myself (keep energy efficiency in mind).

I really need to learn more about this, because I'd really like to build a WHS for my parents and that or a file server for me as well as some sort of a media serer...thoughI wouldn't mind combining media/files into one server.

OK, what I really want is a box that does everythign but gaming, including HTPC that's as efficient as an ATOM when idling....but i guess I can't have it all ;)
Click to expand...

Might still find deals on HP MediaSmart WHS boxen (EX470/475) as the new models (EX485/487) are just coming out. They're low power and purpose built. I use mine with Hamachi installed and backup family member's PCs over the internet (seeing as how I support them when things go awry) it's been a great benefit and time saver for me.

Granted, it wont do HTPC, but there's media extenders and/or integration with XB360 or addins for WHS that allow it to share/stream to PS3 and other devices.
 
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